A non-native English speaking student asked me for reading suggestions. She wants to be prepared for the very rigorous top LAC she will be attending. She has very good English skills.
This got me thinking about which four books I will recommend she read. (I figured four was a reasonable number to suggest for the summer.) I will refer her to this thread so she can make some choices. There are many well-read CC’ers, so I’d love to hear your suggestions. Please list your four, along with the author and a few summarizing words.
My four:
Jane Eyre: Bronte
As an English Lit major, if I had to choose only one book to take to a desert island, this would be it.
Uncle Tom’s Cabin: Stowe
I still remember it vividly. Provides real insight to a critical time in American history.
A Brief History of Time: Hawking
Understandable explanation of physics and space that is also a cultural reference point.
Silent Spring: Carson
Created a environmental movement that is relevant today.
Very difficult to suggest as the choices are so many and could be so different:
The warms of other suns: the epic story of America’s Great Migration by Isabel Wilkerson
About racial history during the early- and mid-20th century America, it follows three individual’s lives under the broad picture of the era. Great book to learn this important history that is absorbing and well-written.
MaddAddam trilogy by Margret Atwood
When science fiction doesn’t sound too far-fetched from reality, we know we are in for some deep trouble.
Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri
One of the best short stories (IMHO) about people living on the edge - where you are foreigners of your birth country as well as your adopted one.
The Patch by John McPhee
After some heavy reading, Mr. McPhee’s beautiful proses and interesting anecdotes can be soothing and entertaining.
“Huckleberry Finn” by Mark Twain - captures the restlessness of America.
“Their Eyes Were Watching God” by Zora Neale Hurston
“The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin” by Benjamin Franklin one of the more interesting Founding Fathers
“The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald the Jazz Age, the American dream
Runner ups: Poetry - a collection that includes all the well-known poems
Moby Dick by Herman Melville
I’d suggest Harry Potter, as many kids in college are Hogwarts fans and then ah might have a cue about what is being referred to. Heck there are even amusement parks named after the series and the second set of movies about that magical world is in progress.
Fun suggestion, @HImom . I was thinking along the lines of books that might give her some useful language skills, historical context, or science knowledge in English so that she might be better prepared for the courses she will be taking at her top 5 LAC.
I think it’s important for kids to also understand cultural references and there are casual mentions of things related to Harry Potter which may pop up in conversation and it could be useful for the student to have some grounding. Even serious students I know are fond of Harry Potter and do refer to things in it—Hogwarts, muggles, etc.
My kids preferred it to many of their assigned books, which they did read. They didn’t re-read the assigned books but DID re-read the Potter series.
Laura Engel Wilder series also harkens to a particular time in history.
But really…I’m not sure there are only four books that would give a non-native English speaker what you are hoping for. Is she a fluent reader in her native language? Is she a fluent English speaker?
I’d actually second the Harry Potter nomination… I do think having cultural context is important to fitting in socially. And, for what it is worth, my daughter ended up writing a freshman lit paper comparing Lisa from Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window to Hermione. She sent that one home for me to read as I am both a Harry Potter and a Hitchcock fan.
Adding on to the list - and I am going with all works of fiction that capture a time in American History (and life):
I might be wrong but how many US college /HS kids still read John Steinbeck? I know my DS didn’t read any of his books. Not a loss in my opinion. Give me Middlemarch or Bleak House any day!
I can’t imagine suggesting Jane Eyre. I read that in high school and absolutely hated it…just plain dull reading. Sure, it’s a classic, but that doesn’t mean it’s going to have any meaning for an 18 year old.
And really…if she is going to read something…pick something she might actually be able to talk about with her peers. Jane Eyre…not likely. Harry Potter, maybe.
@thumper1 , I beg to differ! I loved it when I read it in high school! Still think it’s fantastic.
She is trying to boost her vocab and be prepared for rigorous courses, so that seemed like a good choice to me:-)
ETA: if you look at my OP, I just thought four was a good number to read over the summer. This isn’t a scientific method or anything like that. And yes, she is fluent in English. There are not only four essential books, of course.
Here is her question: “do you have any advice for me on how to prepare myself for college-level writing and reading?” She will be attending a top 5 LAC.
Presumably for an American college? She should read the high school staples if she has not already.
Steinbeck, either Grapes of Wrath or of Mice and Men, the latter if the student is pressed for time.
Angelou, The Color Purple
Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby (Jazz Age)
Vonnegut, Slaughterhouse Five (WWII)
These are not my favorite books by the way. They are just books I think are relevant for the American context when entering college.
Others our kids read: Moby Dick, To Kill a Mockingbird is required reading in many schools, The Outsiders, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian, The Diary of Anne Frank, The Poisonwood Bible.
And if you want some of the most complex, challenging and enriching English, there’s nothing like Salman Rushdie and Midnight’s Children. I don’t think America has had an author like Rushdie since Melville.
Gives you an idea of what American college-bound kids are reading.
Also, I vote against Jane Eyre. Not that it’s bad, but it’s long and boring and you could read three American classics in the same time to get culturally prepared.
Where is she from?
If she is fluent in English, I would venture to say she has read many of the classics. Non-fiction and more contemporary fictions might be better?
Books by Jesmyn Ward (Salvage the bones, Sing unburied sing); Barbara Kingsolver (the poisonwood bible, lacuna); Charles Mann (1491, 1493); any of Robert Caro’s four volumes of LBJ biographies…
Like i said…best to choose titles she can actually converse with someone about. I seriously doubt Jane Eyre is on the list of discussion…for most 18 year olds.
She will be a better reader, and writer, if she is also a better talker.
Some colleges have required readings prior to start if freshman year. My first kid did.
@Lindagaf
I love Jane Eyre. Read it as a teen and then again as an adult woman, still moves me to tears.
If Lahiri/Rushdie were hits, I would also suggest “a case of exploding mangoes”, short stories of “other rooms other wonders”, “the god of small things”, “the white tiger”. So many amazing Indo-Pakistani authors!
To kill a mocking bird — Great way to be introduced to modern American culture. There is good (Atticus), bad (racism) and sweet (kids).
Animal Farm — I was shocked that this American author used farm animals to illustrate human world!!! It’s timeless.
Color Purple — It was the toughest read because of the style. I didn’t understand any of what was written until I got used to it. It’s a very challenging book for a non-native speaker. It also shows a lot about American history.
The Brief Wondrous life of Oscar Wao
Tweak: Growing Up on Methamphetamines by Nick Sheff (or something in this line. edgy and modern)
The last one I included because if I’m an international student, I would like to read something very current. Not just the period books or books that shows American history. I want to read something current and serious that deals with the social issue that surrounds young American people NOW.
The student might pick up a lot of bad word, but I think it’s very helpful to include modern piece.
When I was in college, I wanted to read something current (at the time) so I read Bright Lights, Big City. It was very difficult because the book started out with hallucinations of the main character who was on drug. I had not idea what was going on!!
Or if she wants some light reading, there is always Twilight. (Please don’t beat me up for bringing this up!)